Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025

15 Power to gather information

(1) The Commissioner may require a criminal justice body to supply information which the Commissioner reasonably requires for the purpose of determining whether that body has complied with, or is complying with—

(a) standards of service set and published under section 2 of the 2014 Act,

(b) the Victims’ Code for Scotland prepared and published under section 3B of that Act.

(2) Where a requirement is imposed under subsection (1), the Commissioner must give the criminal justice body a written notice specifying—

(a) the information, or the nature of the information, which is to be supplied,

(b) the form in which it is to be supplied,

(c) in the case of information which is to be supplied by means of a statement in person, the place at which it is to be supplied, and

(d) the particular matters in connection with which the information is required.

(3) A criminal justice body may refuse to supply information which that body would be entitled to refuse to provide in any proceedings in a court in Scotland.

(4) The Lord Advocate may refuse to supply information which concerns the operation of the system of criminal prosecution in any particular case if the Lord Advocate considers that providing the information—

(a) might prejudice criminal proceedings in that case,

(b) would otherwise be contrary to the public interest.

(5) The Commissioner may revoke any requirement imposed under subsection (1) by giving written notice to the criminal justice body to whom notice of the requirement was given.

(6) Where a criminal justice body refuses, under subsection (3), to supply information, the Commissioner may report the matter to the Court of Session for determination if the Commissioner considers that the criminal justice body was not entitled to so refuse.

(7) In this section, “information” includes unrecorded information.